The Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, DC, has an exhibition of works by Afro-Latino, Caribbean and Afro-American artists ended after the Trump administration reportedly withdrew the financing of the show in the midst of performance about diversity, Equality and inclusion programs.
For America, Compiled by Cheryl D. Edwards and four years in the making, was planned to open and merge on March 21 on 40 works that include migration, colonial challenges and interconnectivity in African Diaspora in North and South America. These include works by the late Alonzo Davis, who founded one of the first black contemporary art galleries in the United States, and the Mexican-American sculptor Elizabeth Catlett.
“This would have been the first show that they would have had so many African artists in their galleries in one go,” Edwards said Hyperallergic.
Edwards, who was commissioned to put together the show in 2021, said Hyperallergic That the museum leadership on 10 February announced that the Trump administration had labeled the exhibition as a “Dei program and event” and had withdrawn the financing for the show of the Biden administration.
The Art Museum of the Americas, which has a collection of More than 2,000 Items related to Latin -American and Caribbean art, is an arm of the organization of the American states (OAS), a diplomatic body that focuses on human rights, democracy, safety and development in the western hemisphere. The United States is one of the 34 countries that belong to the organization.
The Trump government has not yet appointed a new head of the American mission to the OAS, but published State Secretary Marco Rubio Updated missions and priorities For participation in diplomacy, including “eliminating our focus on political and cultural causes that are divided abroad at home and deeply unpopularly.”
When Edwards offered to offer fundraising for the show through private donors, she said, the museum refused.
“This is no problem with fundraising,” Edwards said Hyperallergic. “This is a matter of silence the visual voices of Dei … and discrimination based on race, caste and class.”
According to internal e -mails assessed by Hyperallergic, The US government was the primary sponsor of the exhibition. From Monday 24 February the museum will not mention upcoming exhibitions in 2025 on its website.
The OAS, US Mission to the Oas and the Art Museum of the Americas have not responded to several requests for comments.
Edwards said she was designing the exhibition catalog when she was informed that the exhibition was “terminated and abused by the current administration of the United States administration and was excluded and labeled as a dei program and event.”
“This is exactly what I was told,” Edwards noted.
Artist and gallerist Michelle Talibah, whose painting “One” (1979) was part of the show, said Hyperallergic That by ending the exhibition, Art Museum of the Americas had rejected its mission to promote cultural exchange.
“At a time when institutions of cultural and historical significance are confronted with systemic dismantling, we also witness the erosion of freedom of expression and artistic freedom: victims of forces determined to distort stories and to manipulate an uncertain future,” said Talibah.
Edwards said her exhibition was connected to the OASs 2016 Plan of Action for the decade for persons of African descent in America Resolution, which outlines activities to “promote the consciousness of the situation of people of African descent in America.” In the plan, the resolution encourages the Art Museum of the Americas to present artworks by artists of African descent.
“This is an exhibition of unification,” Mixed-Media artist Claudia “Aziza” Gibson-Hunter, whose painting “You must give up the stuff that you weigh” (2022) to be recorded in the show, told Hyperallergic About e -mail.
“With the centuries of wissing, there are still aspects of the ‘for’ who even seek through the work of artists of African descent even today,” said Gibson-Hunter. “To have censored this exhibition [is] Another vicious cultural act that can try to deny future generations because it can puncture a sense of guilt. “
“The termination of this exhibition evokes broader concern about artistic freedom and oppression” Hyperallergic.
“What length does this government will be silent about POC, Black Trans and Queer voices? Diversity, fairness and inclusion are not threats; They are fundamental values that enrich, recognize and embrace reality that we live in a society that consists of many different people, “said the artist.
Edwards said she hopes to show the exhibition later this year at an alternative location.
